// Overseas travel blog

When a friend mentioned the Robot Restaurant as a favourite drop-in for tourists on the Tokyo circuit, It didn't come as a surprise. Strange? Sure. But not out of place for Japan. In the land of electronics, cosplay and kawaii, I could imagine its appeal, but knew it wasn't for me.

Although we opted out of dining with Robots, there's been no shortage of everyday quirkiness to keep us entertained. As always with foreign culture, what may seem normal to some, becomes another's fremdschade or laugh of the day.

First up: the railway stations. Bright, overbearing flags and placards make for a visual shitfight inside the trains themselves. One would think that, in the tangle of 1,000 advertisements per carriage, a small electronic sign to visually announce the next stop mightn’t go astray. It’s not the case. Likewise, banners are plastered up on the area behind the tracks, hoping to catch the attention of any commuters not fixated on their phones.

Other funny fails crop up in tourist areas which attempt translation into English on cafe and shopfront signage. Sometimes the supermarket is an easy source of entertainment. Here are my favourites so far: